Chapter 372 Managing Gusu!

On the way back, Duan Yanqing and his disciples regarded themselves as servants, addressed Xin Zhen and his sister as "younger and younger sister", and addressed Xin Chang and his wife as "master and lady".

Duan Yanqing had difficulty walking and was naturally unable to serve others, but Tan Qing was very proactive and was always the first to go in driving carriages and staying in hotels.

Although Duan Yanqing was unable to serve others, he was very active in communicating with others and acting as a butler, which made Xin Chang and his wife feel that the journey was easier.

Originally, Xin Chang and his wife, and Xin You were a little afraid of the ugly Duan Yanqing, but when they saw that he was quite respectful to their family, they gradually got used to Duan Yanqing's ugly face.

Especially after Xin Yu knew that Duan Yanqing was a very skilled martial artist, she pestered Duan Yanqing every day to teach her a few moves. Duan Yanqing did not dare to teach casually, and only after Xin Zhen's permission did he teach the Yi Yang Finger to Xin Yu.

This was also Duan Yanqing's way of expressing his sincerity to Xin Zhen: I have taught you the Duan family's One Yang Finger, which is enough to express my sincerity. If I can rule Dali in the future, I will not be reluctant to give up the Six Meridians Divine Sword.

Xin Zhen naturally wouldn't care about this. Whether Duan Yanqing was willing or not, he just wanted a promise.

If Duan Yanqing really takes back the throne in the future, then if he is willing to give it to him, that would be great. If he is not willing, he will take it with his own hands and take Duan Yanqing's head back at the same time.

When the Xin family arrived in Gusu City, it was already winter. Gusu also welcomed the first snow of the year. The snow was not heavy, like salt grains. Soon there was a thin layer of snow on the road.

Xin Zhen and his family went into the city, returning to their home after being away for nearly two months.

When the Xin family went in and took a look, they were so angry that they were about to explode. They saw that the door of the room had been pried open and it was in a mess. All the furniture in the room was gone, and even the windows had been removed. A cold wind was blowing in the room.

Xin Zhen was also angry when he saw it, but it was almost dusk and the house seemed uninhabitable, so he quickly took his family to find an inn to stay in.

After checking into the inn, Xin Zhen's mother was still crying with anger. She had been away from home for a long time and had thought that she could return home to live a peaceful life again. But when she came back and saw the state of her home, she could not bear it.

Xin Chang also tried to comfort his wife again and again, but he could not avoid being blamed by his wife. Xin Chang felt helpless, but mothers rarely blamed their sons. Most of them blamed their husbands, so he could only bear it.

Duan Yanqing heard Xin Zhen talk about some disputes with the Beggars' Sect on the way, so he found Xin Zhen privately and said, "Sir, the public security in Gusu City is still good. Generally speaking, this shouldn't happen. Someone must have deliberately pried the door open.

Later, someone saw the door open and thought of stealing. It might be done by the Beggars' Gang. Do you want me to drive the Beggars' Gang out of here?"

Xin Zhen nodded and said, "Don't kill anyone, just drive them out. In addition, the foxes and rats in Gusu City need to be cleaned up. You can take Tan Qing with you.

Don't keep those involved in the practice of cutting and mutilating living beings. If they are just petty thieves, detain them and have them keep an eye on Gusu City and the Beggars' Sect. If anyone from the Beggars' Sect comes in, I want to know it immediately."

Duan Yanqing nodded and said, "Don't worry, sir. I will handle this matter properly. Sir, do you want to drive the Murong family out as well?"

Xin Zhen thought for a moment and said, "It's not the right time yet. Let's talk about it later."

After receiving Xin Zhen's order, Duan Yanqing said goodbye and left. He was very positive about this matter. He was not young anymore and he needed to achieve results as soon as possible.

Duan Yanqing knew very well that although Xin Zhen agreed to keep him by his side, the truth is not easily passed on. At his age, it was obviously not possible for him to be considered a true disciple. If he wanted to receive Xin Zhen's teachings, relying only on the illusory Six Meridians Divine Sword would be far from enough.

So Duan Yanqing regarded himself as an old slave along the way. When he arrived at Gusu City, he immediately proposed to Xin Zhen to take over Gusu City.

Duan Yanqing knew that Xin Zhen attached great importance to family. Xin Yu was almost sold to a brothel by the Beggars' Gang before, and this time she had destroyed Xin Zhen's home into this state. Seeing Xin Zhen's mother so sad, Duan Yanqing knew that his chance had come.

Expel the Beggars' Sect, the foxes and rats that control Gusu City, and even the Murong family of Gusu. If Xin Zhen nods, he will drive them all out and give the Xin family a clean Gusu City.

After I accomplish this, I'm sure Xin Zhen will look at me with new eyes, and no matter what, he will definitely give me some advice.

My martial arts skills have been stagnant for many years, and it would be a great thing if I could improve it even a little bit.

Xin Zhen watched Duan Yanqing and Tan Qing disappear into the darkness and nodded slightly.

This is why he was willing to bear Duan Yanqing's notoriety and take Duan Yanqing and his apprentice under his command.

The forces in Gusu City are quite complex, but the largest one is the Murong family, followed by the Beggars' Sect. Apart from these, there are some smaller forces affiliated with these two families, as well as many loose small groups.

It is relatively complicated. If Xin Zhen is willing, he can also integrate it, but this is rather tedious and requires a lot of energy. I cannot leave my parents now, which makes it difficult.

But things are different with Master Duan Yanqing and his apprentice.

Duan Yanqing's martial arts are unrivaled in Gusu City, even if the Murong family is included.

Only with Duan Yanqing managing the underground world of Gusu City can the safety of his parents and sister be guaranteed.

As for why the Murong family is not expelled now, it is because the Murong family has been operating in Gusu for nearly a hundred years, and various relationships are intertwined. If the Murong family is expelled without any basis, the huge underground power vacuum will plunge Gusu City into chaos.

So we have to take it step by step.

Duan Yanqing was busy with something, so Xin Zhen had no time to rest either.

There are too few people who can be used now. Once Duan Yanqing and Tan Qing leave, he can only do everything himself.

It is definitely not a good idea to live in the inn every day. Xin Zhen asked Xin Chang and his wife for their opinions, whether they should take this opportunity to find a large courtyard to live in, or renovate the small building and continue to live there.

Mr. and Mrs. Xin Chang think that their current economic conditions are still not good enough, and that this small building is enough for the whole family to live in. The key is that they have lived here for so many years and have deep feelings for it, so they would rather not move.

Xin Zhen's mother said that Xin Zhen was going to get married in a few years. The family now had more than a dozen rice shops. After saving money for a few years, they would buy a bigger yard for Xin Zhen to get married.

Xin Zhen thought about it and agreed. He could just replace the doors and windows of his own small building and buy some furniture to live in it. If he bought a new small courtyard, he would also need to decorate it, which would take much more time.

So the next day Xin Zhen asked the waiter of the inn to contact carpenters to make doors, windows, tables and chairs and other items. Then he accompanied his parents and sister to buy various clothes, quilts and other daily necessities, and the family went together to inspect various rice shops.

Duan Yanqing's action had just begun, and Xin Zhen was worried about letting his parents act alone, so he had to work together. Duan Yanqing had been a prince, so he naturally knew what the superiors were thinking, so he found Xin Zhen that night to report on the progress of today's work.

Xin Zhen sat at the table and asked Duan Yanqing to sit down as well. He told Tan Qing to sit down, but Tan Qing didn't dare to sit down and just said he would just stand. Xin Zhen didn't force him.

Duan Yanqing said: "Today, I, Tan Qing and I visited Gusu City and got a general idea of ​​the situation there.

In Gusu City, apart from the Murong family and the Beggars' Sect, there are still many other gangs.

Not to mention anything else, there are four or five water gangs that rely on water for their survival. Although there are not many masters in the gangs, the number of people is quite large.

In addition, there are many farms outside the city. Those farms control the supply of various materials in the city and have an impact on all aspects of the city.

Many foxes and rats in the city also have close connections with these farms, and many of them were sent by these farms to be stationed in the city.

These water gangs, village gangs, and some small gangs in the city are basically inseparable from the Murong family and the Beggars' Sect."

Xin Zhen nodded. He had expected this situation. Suzhou was the birthplace of Wu culture, with a long history, and had long been the political, economic, and cultural center of the Jiangnan region.

Where the economy is good, the benefits will be greater, and more people will be watching.

Officially, the imperial court was the main force, but it also gave rise to a huge underground world.

To the west of Gusu is Taihu Lake and to the north is the Yangtze River. The area is densely covered with water systems and many people depend on water for their livelihoods. Therefore, it is understandable that many water gangs have emerged.

Those manors are also common. For example, Juxian Manor is a very typical martial arts manor. The four ministers around Murong Fu also have their own martial arts manors, which basically have many masters.

This was also a helpless move. Later generations only thought that the Song Dynasty was prosperous, and Jiangnan was the richest of the rich. However, few people knew that the Song Dynasty had the most uprisings among all dynasties, and the banditry in the country was the greatest in all dynasties.

Even Pingjiang Prefecture, where Gusu City is located, suffered from banditry. People inside the city were protected by city walls, but the people outside the city could only organize their own defense forces, so martial arts villages were very common.

These martial arts villages basically combined farming and military affairs. Some large-scale martial arts villages were basically self-sufficient, and even controlled the supply of some materials in Gusu City, such as grain, vegetables, fruits, etc.

In order to control these shares in the city, they must also control the farmers' markets in the city, so they need city foxes and rats to protect these industries in the city. As a result, a situation of various forces intertwined in Gusu City emerged.

But in the final analysis, Gusu City is jointly controlled by the Murong family and the Beggars' Sect. However, after a hundred years of operation by the Murong family, they have managed this place like an iron barrel. After all, the Beggars' Sect is a latecomer and only occupies a small piece of territory.

Last time, Xin Zhen cleaned up the Dali branch. To some extent, the Beggars' Sect can no longer gain a foothold here.

Especially now that the Beggars' Sect is in great chaos, if Murong does not take the opportunity to completely bring Gusu City into his own hands, then Murong Fu will be considered very incompetent.

As expected, Duan Yanqing said, "Sir, you don't want to have a conflict with the Murong family, but after today's visit, it may be impossible to avoid a conflict.

Because the Beggars' Sect has basically withdrawn from Gusu City, I am now eyeing a water gang called the Qianye Gang, which is supported by the Beggars' Sect.

After defeating them, the Beggars' Sect's last nail here has been pulled out. If they want to expand again, they will have to move into the Murong family's territory."

Xin Zhen frowned and said, "Is the Beggars' Sect so incompetent?"

Duan Yanqing said: "It's not that the Beggars' Sect is incompetent, but the Murong family's business in Gusu is too powerful. Even if the Beggars' Sect crosses the river, it is difficult to take down too many. In addition, the last time you slaughtered them, the Beggars' Sect's power here is completely destroyed.

The Murong family has taken advantage of this period to suppress and gather more than a dozen gangs that were originally similar to the Beggars' Sect. If the young master had not wasted nearly two months, he could have snatched a large piece of meat. "

Xin Zhen sneered and said, "Since this piece of meat is mine, the Murong family cannot take it for a hundred years. You should first take down these dozen gangs. If the Murong family dares to say anything, you should beat them all together and make them hurt!"

Duan Yanqing nodded and said, "Sir, why don't we just raid the Murong family? Murong Fu and the four great ministers are nothing. We can just wipe them out, and the rest will be leaderless. Then we can take over all the power of the Murong family."

Xin Zhen was somewhat tempted, but after thinking about it, he shook his head and said, "It's not appropriate. Our foundation is not solid, and we can't digest it even if we force it.

Moreover, the Murong family has been operating in Gusu for many years and has cooperated with the government. If we take it away by force, I am afraid it will cause a lot of trouble.

Once we absorb all of these dozen gangs, we will have a solid foundation. Then we can expel the Murong family. With this foundation, we can complete the transition and minimize the impact."

Duan Yanqing nodded in agreement. After all, fighting for territory was different. Once the territory was seized, it had to be governed.

After the original power is defeated, the power vacuum must be filled as soon as possible, otherwise chaos will inevitably occur. Once chaos occurs, the government will definitely intervene, and all kinds of complications will inevitably arise.

The correct way to seize territory is to proceed step by step like Xin Zhen did.

Duan Yanqing thought so, but Xin Zhen had different ideas.

Xin Zhen knew that there would be great turmoil in the martial arts world in the future, and that the ambitious Murong Fu would definitely be active everywhere.

If he doesn't take action in Gusu and kill Murong Fu, the city of Gusu will still be his, but the impact will be minimal.

Moreover, the most important thing is that Xin Zhen does not particularly trust Duan Yanqing and his apprentice. Now his team only consists of the two of them. Such a structure is definitely unhealthy.

If he had the assistance of the Eight Friends of Hangu now, Xin Zhen would immediately drive the Murong family out of Gusu and completely take Gusu into his hands.

Now, take it slow and use this time to slowly train a few disciples. In the martial arts world, parents are dearer than fathers, but disciples are the closest. Disciples are the most trustworthy people in the martial arts world.

Wu Yazi: "..."

Ding Chunqiu: "You are right."

(End of this chapter)